HealthWrap: Sexy ads may harm girls

Advertising that looks at girls and young women through a sexual lens can do harm to their mental and physical health, states a report released by the American Psychological Association.

The members of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls decried the proliferation of such promotions in music videos and lyrics, magazines, movies and video games and on television and the Internet, deeming it a threat to girls' positive self-image and development.

Making women into sex objects or defining them by their sexual appeal or behavior -- a common trend in all the media forms studied -- can lead to disturbing consequences, they said.

"We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health and healthy sexual development," said task force Chair Eileen Zurbriggen.

Specifically, the task force said the troubling trend can:

-- Undermine a girl's confidence in and comfort with her body, leading to shame, anxiety and other emotional and self-image disturbances.

-- Trigger or exacerbate three of the most common mental-health problems diagnosed in females: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression.

-- Impede development of a healthy sexual self-image.

"As a society, we need to replace all of these sexualized images with ones showing girls in positive settings, ones that show the uniqueness and competence of girls," Zurbriggen said.

Parents in particular can play a major role in contributing to or protecting from the sexualization of their daughters, the report said.

--

Another study showed the important influence a father can have over his child's future ability to form and sustain close relationships.

The survey of orphans, children of divorced parents and children of married parents drew a link between the quality of the child's relationships with dad and his or her success at intimate bonding in adulthood, said study author Dr. Nurit Nahmani of the University of Haifa School of Social Work in Israel.

In the study of 231 men and women ages 22 to 32, 82 percent of those from intact homes reported being involved in an intimate relationship characterized by physical and emotional closeness and commitment to their partner.

That compared to only 60 percent of those from divorced families and 62 percent of the orphans, the researchers said. The orphans and those whose parents had split up "lost" their fathers between the ages of 6 and 12, they said.

"The results showed that orphans and children of divorced parents experienced different emotional connections with their fathers," Nahmani said. "The orphans tended to idolize their fathers, while children of divorced parents tended to feel frustration and anger towards their fathers."

Of the study participants whose father was permanently or partially absent during their childhood, 41 percent reported a "feeling of loss, often accompanied by a fear of being abandoned a second time and reported not being involved in a relationship," she added.

However, for those who were able to forge an intimate relationship, the orphans and children of divorced parents reported experiencing a high level of closeness and commitment, Nahmani said.

--

Another study supported the notion that social interactions experienced as early as infancy may help shape future romantic relationships.

Odds are babies secure in their caretakers' love grow into children skilled in making friends who mature into adults successful in matters of the heart, the researchers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

The way a man or woman thinks, feels and behaves in response to Cupid's arrow is governed not only by factors in the immediate environment but also as a direct result of past personal attachments dating back to the cradle, asserted the authors of an ongoing study of 78 participants that began more than 25 years ago.

The researchers from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis checked out four pivotal stages in the study subjects' lives: infancy, early childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

When the participants were 12 months old, caregivers reported on the babies' attachment and exploratory behavior. At the 6- to 8-year mark, teachers were asked to rate the youngsters' ability to interact with peers. When they turned 16, the participants were asked to describe their close friendships.

Most recently, the participants' romantic interests of at least four months described the nature and dynamics of their relationship, which also were observed and evaluated by the researchers.

The findings: "Expression of emotions in adult romantic relationships can be related back to a person's attachment experiences during earlier social development. Those participants who were secure and attached as infants were rated with higher social competence as children.

"Children who were socially competent amongst peers were found to be more secure and closer to their friends at age 16. Participants who were closer to friends as a teen were more expressive and emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early adulthood."

While the findings draw a connection between early social interactions and later romantic ties, they do not paint a fatalistic picture of a future completely dependent upon the past, said lead study author W. Andrew Colins, professor of psychology.

--

UPI Consumer Health welcomes comments on this column. E-mail: lwasowicz@upi.com